Once she realized that I would not even accept dead penguins, she became frustrated and started putting the penguins on top of my head. Through the tears of laughter and excitement, I just kept shooting.

Once she realized that I could not catch or accept one of her live penguin offerings, she started to bring me dead penguins. Of course, I felt terrible for the penguins. However, leopard seals usually play with their food before eating them and she ate every penguin that I did not accept.

One of the most ingrained misunderstandings in history is the relationship between humans and predators. Be it sharks, wolves, killer whales, grizzly bears or leopard seals, as a species we seem to have demonized these creatures from ancient times to present. Many of these top predators were culled for the simple reason that we fear them; some are still victims of culls, like sharks. As we begin to understand these predators, we realize that we can peacefully coexist and in fact, it is our responsibility to protect these species and their ecosystems.